Learned Helplessness

In your orientations, we mentioned the notion of “learned helplessness.” Seligman (1998) defines the latter as follows: “Learned helplessness is the giving-up reaction, the quitting response that follows from the belief that whatever you do doesn’t matter. Explanatory style is the manner in which you habitually explain to yourself why bad or good events happen. It is the great modulator of learned helplessness. An optimistic explanatory style stops helplessness, whereas a pessimistic explanatory style spreads helplessness. Your way of explaining events to yourself determines how helpless you can become, or how energized, when you encounter the everyday setbacks as well as momentous defeats” (p.15).

How is the learned helplessness related to how long students remain engaged in the course? Observe how they explain course setbacks or achievements. Do they explain their bad grades as “permanent, pervasive, and personal?” How about the good grades? Interestingly, the optimistic explanatory style assumes that you explain your failures as temporary, local, and impersonal, whereas successes - as permanent, pervasive, and personal.

On the other hand, can continuously relying on other sources of support promote learned helplessness? Observe how much your students are reliant on you for answers, and “rate” their “helplessness” patterns. As the semester progresses, work on breaking these patterns.

Breaking learned helplessness & developing the optimistic explanatory style go hand in hand with the growth mindset – viewing successes as products of effort vs. ability. Learning that responding matters prevents learned helplessness. In Seligman’s study, dogs that were taught this mastery as puppies were immunized to learned helplessness all their lives. Individuals taught that what you do matters can change their success patterns. 

More on the topic: Seligman M. (1998) Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life. 

Key Take-Aways from Orientations

Thank you for being active member of orientations and providing your feedback! Just to recap, here are the main take-aways from the orientations:

-       Start all your beginnings with an open mind and positive attitude. I know it is hard to focus on multiple topics during an hour of orientation, but if you come with the right attitude, you will learn something.

-       Stay engaged, not only through your orientation, but throughout the semester. Your feedback is important for the development of the program, and your personal growth as an academic mentor.

-       Continue reflecting on what the term “academic mentor” means to you, and how you can continue growing into it. Think of the ways in which academic mentoring relationship goes beyond just tutoring the subject. Observe your own behavior and the actions you are role-modeling. Model behaviors rather than tell.

-       Help your students re-discover the joy in learning.  If one skill they take away from you is the love of learning, and the joy in discovering new things – that means you have done your job.

-       In your workings with students, break the “learned helplessness” and the dependency cycle: get them to tell you. Use strategies from your manual and strategy cards!

-       Think of your goals for the semester, and at the end evaluate your progress.

I will post separately on stereotype threat as I hope this topic will generate some discussion throughout the semester, with examples from your interactions with students. As promised, I will also post your own tips on reducing test anxiety and conducting sessions.

Academically adrift

Hello everyone, and welcome back to CAE!

I've wanted to start off the semester by sharing some of my reflections on the book "Academically Adrift" by Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa. In the book, the authors described the study of over 2300 students in twenty-four four-year institutions across the US. The researchers have measured the students' critical thinking, complex reasoning, and writing skills through the tool called Collegiate Learning assessment (CLA) in the beginning of the students' freshman year and at the end of their sophomore year. The outcomes of the study suggest that there weren't any statistically significant gains in critical thinking, complex reasoning, and writing skills for at least 45 percent of students. In other words, the students’ academic pathways adrift.

Although the findings of this study may sound disheartening, there were some important take-away ideas from the book. Importantly, the factors were mentioned that influence students' development of the above-mentioned skills. Most certainly, the prior academic preparation play the dominant role in how well the students develop critical thinking, complex reasoning, and writing skills after they enter college. The better prepared the students are when they enter college - the more they develop during their college years. But most important, what students do in college also matters. Students’ college experiences and institutions attended make almost as much of a difference as prior academic preparation. For instance, equalizing academic preparation between African-American and white students would substantially reduce but not eliminate the gap between them. That means that some of the white – African-American student gap might be due to differential higher education experiences.  

The following is the list of factors that the authors found contributing to the improvement of critical thinking, complex reasoning, and writing skills of students on college campuses:

-          Studying on one’s own. The study reports that the average students studies less than two hours a day, and about twelve hours a week. African-American students reported studying two hours less per week than white students.

-          Hours spent in a fraternity/sorority are negatively correlated with student development outcomes.

-          Working with faculty that has high expectations for their students.

-          Reading/writing course requirements. Half of students in the study have not taken a single course that required more than 20 pages of writing, and one-third have not taken a course that required more than 40 pages of reading per week. Note that the more academic work and higher academic demands are associated with the development of a sense of academic purpose or academic commitment.

Interestingly, the study has not found the positive relationship between the number of hours students spend studying with peers and improvement in CLA scores. To my opinion, this has to do with time on task – which is what students struggle with when they study with peers.
Moreover, the achievement gap between white – African-American students is influenced by the subtle cultural factors. The fear of “stereotype threat” leads to a lower performance. For instance, even subtle cues such as being asked to identify one’s race before a GRE-like verbal test can lead African-American students to perform less well.

More on the topic: Arum R., Roksa, J. (2011). Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses

What to Do When You're Failing a Class

By Roxanna Coldiron, Her Campus

Midterm exams came and went, and you’re breathing a sigh of relief. That is, you were relieved until you got your exam back and saw your score. Finding out that you’re failing a class is disheartening, but it doesn’t mean that it’s Game Over. Take Her Campus’s advice on how to improve your grade and pull your GPA up by its bootstraps.

Determine Why You’re Failing
Identifying why you’re failing a course is a crucial first step in turning that D into a better grade.
The course material or the instructor could be difficult or hard to understand. If you’re feeling stressed or dealing with other issues in your life (as many of us are), the demands of a class can also increase your anxiety and fall second to the other events going on in your life. “Bad grades are usually indicators of larger problems such as displeasure with your major, insecurity, poor time management and even anxiety and depression,” says AnnaLee, HC Campus Correspondent for the University of Notre Dame.
Take time to write down what you think could be your reasons for failing a course. This list will help you determine what to do next.

Develop a Plan of Action
Your plan of action will vary according to your reasons for struggling in a class; however, you can still consider other options that are available to you. Be flexible as you approach this problem.
If you’re dealing with anxiety and depression, for example, your first step would be to speak to a mental health counselor on campus. According to a 2012 survey conducted by the American College Health Association National College Health Assessment, you’re not alone: Approximately 20 percent of students surveyed experienced sadness, depression and loneliness within a 12-month period. While speaking to a counselor will not directly influence your grade, it can help you relieve any stress and anxiety contributing to poor performance in your courses. Most college campuses provide free counseling services in their health centers.
We’ve compiled a list of possible options to help you through this mid-semester crisis.

Draw From a List of Options
1. Ask for extra credit.
“I am an extra-credit kinda gal,” says Ivelisse from James Madison University. “Even if the professor doesn’t mention any extra credit opportunities, I will still ask.” She suggests asking them in private and during office hours. You’re letting them know that you care about your grade and the course, and most professors want you to do well.
Talking to your professors is often your first line of defense in saving your GPA from certain doom. “Communication and collaboration with your instructors is probably the number one characteristic of successful students,” says Nancy Sauline, the assistant director of student academic services at Hiram College.
Professors will often be required to present the extra credit option to the entire class in an effort to be fair; however, Ivelisse says that you might be able to get a head start by approaching the professor first.
While taking on extra credit assignments won’t guarantee you an A, it will bump your grade up and show the professor that you are dedicated to the course and want to do well. There are several things to keep in mind when approaching your professor:

• Respect office hours and your professor’s time. Talk to your professor after class and schedule a one-on-one meeting. If the professor has time to talk right away, thank the professor for his or her time.
• Be professional. If you decide to email your professor, start with a greeting, use proper spelling and grammar and close with your name. Remember to email via your school’s email and have a clear subject line so that your professor knows what to expect in the message. Always thank your professor for his or her time.
• Come prepared. This is part of being professional. When you meet with your professor, know what you want to say. “Let the professor know that you’re aware of what’s on the syllabus and what’s expected of you,” Sauline says. “You’re doing the work but you’re having a grade goal that you’re not meeting. Be specific. If you have a D, say that you want a C or a B, and the professor can help you figure out what you need to do to get there.”
• Recognize that your professor can’t automatically grant you an A. While it would be nice, professors can only help you to understand the material better and offer options to help you if you’re struggling. The rest is up to you. If you’re given the option of an extra credit assignment, it’s your responsibility to complete and turn in the extra assignment as required.

2. Ask for grade book weight adjustments.
Another option you can suggest to your professor is to adjust the weight of an assignment or exam. If the midterm is worth 50 percent of your grade, suggest that the exam count for less with homework assignments counting for more of your grade. If the final exam counts for only 25 percent, ask the professor if it could be adjusted to count for more (because you fully intend to be more prepared to ace that final!).
Again, the professor will have to accommodate the entire class with any adjustments; however, it’s likely that the adjustments will also help the rest of those in your class. If the exam was particularly difficult, the professor might have already graded the exam on a curve.

3. Ask the Teaching Assistant for help.
A teaching assistant (TA) is usually a graduate student who helps the professor with lectures or lab work. “The TAs in the chemistry department run the labs,” says Dr. Alexander Seed, an associate professor in the department of chemistry and biochemistry at Kent State University (KSU). “Our TAs hold five office hours a week and are available to answer any questions about the labs or about the theories covered in class.”
In other departments, TAs help to develop the lesson plans, give lectures and do much of the grading. If the material or the professor is confusing, the TA can clarify or re-teach the material. Even better? TAs are often recent undergraduates and likely to remember what you’re going through. They’re also students themselves, sitting in graduate-level courses and studying new material on a regular basis.
Approach the TA with the same respect you would show a professor. While a TA might have limited powers, he or she has a direct line with the professor and might be able to convince the professor to adjust the importance of certain assignments or to add new assignments that would improve the overall grade outcome of the class.

4. Get a tutor.
If you find that you need a tutor to prepare for your assignments or to do better on the final exam and boost your semester grade, there’s no need to blush or hang your head in shame. “Sometimes students are embarrassed that they need help,” says Heather, a senior education major at KSU. “But they don’t need to be. Even the best students need help if the course itself is difficult.”
Tutoring won’t change your grades on previous assignments, but it will improve your understanding of the course work and improve your grades as the semester ends. Even if you started with a D, adding several As and Bs to the grade line next to your name means that you could end the semester with a high C or a solid B.

5. Withdraw from the course.
Jessica, an environmental studies major at Hiram College, decided to withdraw from a general education course once she realized that she wouldn’t be able to bring her grade up. “I attempted to bring my grade up [after failing the midterm exam], but it got worse and worse,” she says. “I’ve never done that badly in a class before.”

“In our office, we require that students have a conversation with an adviser prior to withdrawing from a class. Our hope is that we can intervene and offer a solution first and save the W for extreme situations,” Antalvari says.
According to both Antalvari and Sauline, withdrawing from a course can affect your financial aid status if you drop below a required amount of credit hours. It may also be too late to transfer into another class, which would require that you catch up on all assignments and exams.
“Here at Kent State, we do offer half semester and third semester classes that students can register to keep them at full-time status,” says Antalvari. Ask your adviser if your school offers mid-semester classes and register for one or two as soon as you decide to drop a class. The added courses could boost your GPA for the semester and keep you where you need to be for financial aid.
Even so, in some cases, Sauline says that withdrawing from a course can be a “viable option”- only after everything else is taken into account.
Finally, if you’ve done all you can and still receive a failing grade, Annalee says, “One bad grade isn’t the end of the world.” You’ll have a chance to improve your cumulative GPA by earning high grades in your other classes, and you can prepare for next semester by attending tutoring sessions for a difficult course early in the semester and conversing with your professors.